That Quirky Little Café

Highly ironically a black cat crossed my path the morning that we were to pay a visit to a café cum B+B that Colombo has been ranting and raving about. Black Cat Colombo is a little hidden gem of a place and if you don’t keep a keen eye out, you could miss the signage down Wijerama Mawatha. The young couple who own the property have basically converted a colonial building in to a B+B fronted by a café and store.

Quirky is probably the best word we would use to describe Black Cat. From the antique sewing machines that have been recycled to make tables, to the old typewriters and retro posters that are part of the interior décor, this place scream originality. They also have a comfy reading room with an old book cabinet stocked with books and magazines as old as the building itself. This part of the building also houses a store that sells batik clothing, hand-crafted jewellery, scented candles and organic spices.

One of the main ideas behind creating this café was to keep things simple, and their menu plays testament to this. Some of the ingredients used in the dishes are sourced from their little vegetable patch outside while the rest we are told come mostly from local suppliers. The menu at Black Cat changes constantly but the drinks remain pretty much the same. Their coffee-based drinks are made using world-renowned freshly ground Temple Grounds coffee so we decided to try an Iced Mocha. To ensure that we have variety we also tried a Naarang Cooler. Both drinks are served in recycled jam jars. The Iced Mocha had a very distinct flavour to it that is quite different to what you would find at the café chain, and we attribute it to the freshness of the blend. The Naarang Cooler is ideal for a hot day and also a definite accompaniment to one of the dishes we picked.

The Chilli Prawn Pasta as the name suggests is A LOT of chilli! No wonder the blackboard menu suggests that you order a drink to go along with it. This dish is not for the faint-hearted. Some of our less ambitious choices were the Alaska which is an open-faced sandwich of rye bread topped with a layer of cream cheese and Norwegian Salmon (the only ingredient sourced from abroad). We can’t begin to tell you how satisfying every bite was. The salmon is fresh and the cream cheese adds a tangy twist to it that melts in your mouth.

Black Cat serves breakfast till 12noon (for all the late sleepers!) so we also ordered one of the most popular dishes on their menu, The Mission. To say the least, finishing this magnanimous portion of typical English breakfast is Mission Impossible unless you have stomachs like ours. It comes packed with 2 hash browns, 2 bulls’ eyes, 2 smoked chicken sausages, 2 slices of brown toast, grilled mushrooms and spinach, tomatoes, caramelized onions and kidney beans. Apart from everything in that plate (which we also love!), we are just so fascinated with their presentation. Our other option was what they call the “Pumpkin Patch”. Oven-roasted pumpkin is topped with feta cheese, caramelized onions, sautéed chick peas and bean sprouts, and is topped with garlic and parmesan grilled chicken. The various textures of this dish properly combine when you wolf down a mouthful and the flavours just burst in your mouth.

After a hearty meal such as this, the only thing left to do is have a dessert. Although there’s no dessert menu at Black Cat per se Dush Rathnayake’s Bellissima CBP sells out before they can even be displayed. Being of the non-alcoholic kind, we tried the classic of course and we will only say that we wish time and time again that Dush would make those jars bigger!

So if you are wondering where the “cat” is, we didn’t really see one during our visit. But we were told that there were a few rescues who have since been adopted by regulars. However, there is a little doggy that guards the place like his own. The café has adopted him as their official security guard and he does a fine job at it. That’s what you call loyalty!

Black Cat B+B is on the first floor of the colonial house. They have 5 rooms in all of which four are “King Rooms” with double beds, and one twin room with two-single beds. The rooms are spacious and ideal for budget travellers. The fact that it is located in the heart of the city and in close proximity to tourist sites, shopping malls and a plethora of restaurants from every cuisine imaginable makes it ideal for travellers who want a place to wind down after a long day in Colombo’s unpredictable weather.

All in all we love this place and aren’t afraid to call it one of our favourites. So here’s our rating…

Location *** (Keep a watchful eye for the signage or you just might miss it!)

Ambiance **** (Comfy! Cosy! Clean!)

Service ***** (The owners are super nice and have rubbed off on the staff!)

Food ***** (Who serves such large portions? Not that we are complaining!)

Overall **** ¼

Reviwed by #FoodiesSL

Address: 11 Wijerama Mawatha, Colombo 07.

Tel: 0112 675 111

Email: blackcatcolombo@gmail.com

Website: www.blackcatcolombo.com

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